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Post by 2bmarcel16 on Apr 29, 2008 8:24:27 GMT -5
3) Comment on how the boys' concept of the Beast as one that now comes from Air increases their fear of the unknown?
Let me first conclude what the boys think of the Beast at this point in the story.They think: Its shape and size is like a monster,and snake-like, it is amphibious, thus making the boys becoming helpless against it as they cannot find it, and now it can fly. Now think:On the mostly forested island, animals the size of monsters are all too common. Animals that are big and swim and walk? Probably that would scare some people. How about BIG animals which swim, walk and fly at the same time? That would scare the wits out of most people. Why is that so? As I have mentioned, big animals are common even in the civilized world.Amphibious and big animals are rarely, if even, seen. Amphibious animals which can fly are out of the world for these children.And the simple fact that they can no longer rely on the safety of the shelters, the trees, the mountain, that would make them fear more.
Now i address the second part of the question.The "unknown" part. One must see that most people fear the unknown. To increase that fear- Up to the point in the story, the boys were feeling quite at ease in their private world, as they were sheltered, had adequate food and drink and were contented. The talk of the Beast started the fear of the unknown on the island. They awoke the sudden realisation within the boys that they were on a foreign island.What is more, the sightings always seem to happen at times where Ralph and Jack, their leader figures, was asleep or busy.
To conclude, (as my points have been scattered), the notion of the beast being able to fly increases their fear as 1) The superpowers of the Beast is not common in the world they used to live in. 2) They knew very little of the island and their natural reaction to such inadequate knowledge was fear.
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Post by 2amarcusgohsy12 on May 3, 2008 3:53:31 GMT -5
Hi all,
3) A beast from air increases their fear because, when they are in the forest by themselves, be it collecting firewood or other, the beast can just emerge from nowhere and they can be killed without realising it.
Marcus Goh
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Post by 2akennethleong14 on May 5, 2008 2:39:45 GMT -5
3) Comment on how the boys' concept of the Beast as one that now comes from Air increases their fear of the unknown? Firstly, from a beast that comes from land, then from water , then from air. This shows the transformation of the beast. From this, we can see that the beast is getting more and more powerful and the littluns were getting more and more frightened. this is also parrellel to Jack getting more power in the island and the beast getting stronger means more boys were becoming more savage.
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Post by 2bmarcuschong03 on May 5, 2008 4:03:56 GMT -5
Hey all,
2) Discuss why Ralph considers the area called the castle to be a "rotten place".
I think that it is because the surroundings described were indeed lifeless and "rotten" and it may also because Jack actually thought the castle was good, "What a place for a fort!", he shouted excitedly.
The surroundings were described with phrases like "there was one flat rock there, spread like a table, and the waters sucking down on the four weedy sides made them seem like cliffs." , "waters rose, the weed streamed, and the water boiled over the table rock with a roar." and "there was no sense of the passage of waves;". Then as Ralph led the way over the rocks, "inspected a sort of half-cave that held nothing more terrible than a clutch of rotten eggs". These are evidence that the surroundings were actually pretty lifeless to a certain extent and were quite "rotten" in a way.
Another reason could be because Jack was excited and thought the castle is good for a fort. At this point of the story, we all know that the conflict between Jack and Ralph had intensified much and they always do not come to terms with each other. So when Jack thought the castle was good, it is only natural for Ralph, his rival, to disagree with him and to rebut him, saying "This is a rotten place". Ralph knew Jack was very excited about it so Ralph decided to "spill cold water">>( in Chinese) and give him a wet blanket, to spoil his hopes and excitement. We know Ralph is all along a very understanding with a higher than average intelligence, he couldn't have not thought about this point(him being a wet blanket). So we can see that he is actually saying it on purpose just to oppose against Jack.
Regards, Marcus Chong 2B03
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Post by 2bongyuhao17 on May 6, 2008 3:26:50 GMT -5
3) Comment on how the boys' concept of the Beast as one that now comes from Air increases their fear of the unknown?
The boys¡¯ fear of the beast becomes an increasingly important aspect of their lives, especially at night, from the moment the first littlun claims to have seen a snake-monster in Chapter 2. In this chapter, the fear of the beast finally explodes, ruining Ralph¡¯s attempt to restore order to the island and precipitating the final split between Ralph and Jack. At this point, it remains uncertain whether or not the beast actually exists. In any case, the beast serves as one of the most important symbols in the novel, representing both the terror and the allure of the primordial desires for violence, power, and savagery that lurk within every human soul. In keeping with the overall allegorical nature of Lord of the Flies, the beast can be interpreted in a number of different lights. In a religious reading, for instance, the beast recalls the devil; in a Freudian reading, it can represent the id, the instinctual urges and desires of the human unconscious mind. However we interpret the beast, the littlun¡¯s idea of the monster rising from the sea terrifies the boys because it represents the beast¡¯s emergence from their own unconscious minds. As Simon realizes later in the novel, the beast is not necessarily something that exists outside in the jungle. Rather, it already exists inside each boy¡¯s mind and soul, the capacity for savagery and evil that slowly overwhelms them. As the idea of the beast increasingly fills the boys with dread, Jack and the hunters manipulate the boys¡¯ fear of the beast to their own advantage. Jack continues to hint that the beast exists when he knows that it probably does not¡ªa manipulation that leaves the rest of the group fearful and more willing to cede power to Jack and his hunters, more willing to overlook barbarism on Jack¡¯s part for the sake of maintaining the ¡°safety¡± of the group. In this way, the beast indirectly becomes one of Jack¡¯s primary sources of power. At the same time, Jack effectively enables the boys themselves to act as the beast¡ªto express the instinct for savagery that civilization has previously held in check. Because that instinct is natural and present within each human being, Golding asserts that we are all capable of becoming the beast.
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Post by 2climshengyang20 on May 11, 2008 11:48:32 GMT -5
Hi guys,
Now i will be answering question 3. 3) Comment on how the boys' concept of the Beast as one that now comes from Air increases their fear of the unknown?
As we can see the "beast" had greatly evolved from a form to another. It is first a fear deep in a human's heart, moving on to be only creepers, then to a beast from water, then to "something big and horrid in trees", then to "ghosts and finally to a beast from air. However, unknown to the everyone, the beast is actually a dead parachutist.
Sam and Eric had both exaggerated the whole incident into saying things such as "teeths, claws, it sat up, wings, slinking behind the trees" and finally it "nearly touched [him]". This increases the fear in the boys as the beast was depicted as a very strong and powerful creature and is almost able to wipe out men.
This caused the littluns to loose the sense of security and started to "shrank away in horror", "burst into tears", causing the "bright morning [to be] full of threats". This incident had actually boosted Jack's authority as he somehow became a leader and asked "This'll be a real hunt! Who will come?" The littluns will somehow respect him as Jack would be the one facing and fighting with the beast and thus undermine Ralph's authority.
Thus, this incident is quite significant in the story as the beast was finally shaped out and the "dealing" and facing of the beast is close.
ShengYang
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Post by 2cangenming02 on May 15, 2008 4:31:21 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
Here is my post on question 1. 1) Golding has made links with the previous chapter, which is about the 'beast from water'. Chapter 6 is about the 'beast from air'. There is an immediate ironic link because Ralph's desperate wish for a grown-up sign is granted, but it does not bring the expected comfort but terror. When Golding sends the "sign" of the dead adult parachutist, he is referring to the battle in the outside world. It is tragically ironic that the grown-ups whom the boys have such confidence in are engaged in destruction on a greater scale than the boys themselves.
Regards, Ang En Ming
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Post by 2cgalileoyap07 on Jun 5, 2008 11:03:49 GMT -5
Hi alls, I will be answering Qn 2. 2) Discuss why Ralph considers the area called the castle to be a "rotten place".
At this time, we can already see the savagery of the boys quite plainly and prominently , and the savages get the castle to be their base. It may be because of Ralph's dislike of Jack, creating tension within them and increases the likeliness of disagreement between them. It may also be the fact that most of the surroundings of the place is decaying and rather rotten. However, I feel that it may also be because of the fact that the castle is likely to be a base for the savages in the future, and thus feels that the place is lifeless, a manifestation of evil and blood lust, e.t.c, concentrated as a result of the human instincts to kill and such. TYVM for reading this post.
Cheerios, Galileo Yap
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Post by 2b23kevin on Jun 14, 2008 10:55:20 GMT -5
1) The boys wanted to escape the island and survive on it while they were on it. They wanted an adult to show them how they could escape and in the meantime, survive on the island to the best of their ability. They also wanted an adult to protect them from the beast that was living on the island.
The sign probably was to tell us that the outside world wasn't what they boys thought it was. Adults were fighting each other, just like the way the boys were starting to. Adults are killing each other just because of a power struggle, just like the way the boys were going to. What's more, the adults that the children want (the British), who were supposedly civilised ones, were a part of the savagery.
Golding probably wanted the sign to enforce the idea that the island was a scaled-down version of the world. The island was going to be filled with conflict, just like the way the world was at that time.
Thank you, Kevin
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Post by 2b23kevin on Jun 14, 2008 11:03:13 GMT -5
3) Comment on how the boys' concept of the Beast as one that now comes from Air increases their fear of the unknown?
When the beast was living in the sea, the most probable place for the beast to strike was the coastline. Now that the beast can fly, the beast was able to strike at any place on the island. This makes the boys even more frightened as they could be killed at any time.
The fear that the boys had made them turn even more towards Jack and wanting him to lead them and protect them. To Jack, the more and more powerful the beast became, so did his influence and power over the boys.
Thank You, Kevin
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Post by 2btaytianwen28 on Jun 18, 2008 6:08:27 GMT -5
Hi all,
i agree with Kevin. Something which strikes from the air can strike at any time, any place. This increases the scale of fear and paranoia within the boys, whereas something which strikes from water can only attack near the coastline.
Also, this signifies an increase in Jack's power, for Jack used the fact that the boys fear the beast to assert a form of control over the boys and also directly challenging the authority of Ralph.
Do post any comments.
Tian Wen
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Post by 2cjiangshen14 on Jun 18, 2008 9:33:37 GMT -5
Hi All,
Here are my answers to Questions 1 and 3. Feel free to comment.
1) William Golding is trying to remind us that although the boys lead an isolated life on the island, we know that a bloody war is being waged elsewhere in the world. It is a terrible war and here Golding reminded the reader that it was the atom bombs have threatened England in a war against “the reds” and that is the reason why the boys have to be evacuated. The war is responsible for the boys’ crash landing on the island in the first place, because an enemy aircraft gunned down their transport plane. Although the war remains in the background of Lord of the Flies, it is an important extension of the main themes of the novel. Just as the boys struggle with the conflict between civilization and savagery on the island, the outside world is also having a similar conflict. War represents the savage outbursts of civilization, when the desire for violence and power overwhelms the desire for order and peace. The danger of savagery remains real even within the context of that seemingly civilized society that has nurtured them.
3) Air surrounds them, air is what we all breathe! From the beginning, the littluns were already afraid of the fact about it. From time to time it became worse. From the fact that the beast comes from the water to now the beast comes from the air. The situation tightens once more. It seems to the littluns that the beast could attack at any moment now as there was nowhere to hide. It seems that they are suffocating from the beast. For instance, they could die at any moment! It also led to what later they think that the beast actually exists within them. They are the beast!
Regards, Jiang Shen
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Post by 2chanhao09 on Jul 16, 2008 9:21:57 GMT -5
Hello, i would be answering question 3
Coming from the air would most likely be something that is swift and fast. This would increase the fears of everyone as people are most vulnerable to air attacks. For example the Kamikaze, it swooped down and destroyed everything that it hits. If the beast comes from the air, it could fly down and kill anyone. Someone in the book said that the beast could come from water and land, now adding air it would give a definite drop in surviving as all knows that land air and water are 3 main components of earth. If the beast could now come from the air, they could not stop the beast as it might just kill and go.
By adding that the beast could come from air, it would also suggest that the beast can take up any form and might even be just beside you. This greatly frightened the boys as they do not know where and when the beast might attack
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Post by oropepeheqawu on May 27, 2019 5:29:05 GMT -5
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Post by ibopaligos on May 27, 2019 7:19:44 GMT -5
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